7 Most Common Obstacles Keeping You From Achieving Your Goals

If you’ve been struggling to achieve your goals, the obstacles are probably not from what lies outside of yourself. More than likely, they exist within you.

Stay with me for a second. Think about it this way…

We often see obstacles as obstacles because we’ve been conditioned to believe that they are just that ….obstacles.

But if you think about it in another way, obstacles don’t really exist. It is all a matter of perspective.

Those who encounter obstacles and gives up will never know what their life would be like without it.

Achievers on the other hand will find a way around or through it, but either way they will eventually get past the obstacle and achieve their goal.

Understanding these obstacles for what they really are can help us realize that we shouldn’t let them hinder our progress in life!

Overcoming obstacles for achieving success

1. Fear of failure or doing something wrong

Fear of failure often holds people back from success because it’s an innate human emotion that is difficult to control. It’s important to take a deep breath and realize that you will make mistakes in life and that is okay.

Learn from these mistakes and keep trying. Fear of failure can also lead to increased procrastination and cause people to give up on their goals before they even try.

If you think your fear of failure is holding you back, start small by breaking your goal into smaller steps or tasks.

Look over each task, identify what you are afraid of, and find a way to change it so that it isn’t as daunting. Identify the benefits of tackling the task and ignore any negative thoughts about how the task will play out.

Focus on the end result and not the journey.

Your goal is to reach your destination, but it’s important not to lose track of the reasons why you are traveling there in the first place.

If you recognize that reaching the end is just a means to an end (i.e., running a marathon because it’s good for your health), then you can’t let fear of failure or any other emotion rob you from your ultimate success.

If you’re afraid of failure, remember that every hurdle along your path was designed to make sure that only those people who truly wanted this would be able to get it.

2. Doubt about your abilities.

People might have doubts about their abilities to be successful because they may believe that they don’t have enough time, money and/or resources. However, these are just excuses for not trying. It’s about knowing how to maximize and utilize what you have so that you can achieve more in life.

If you don’t really want to achieve something, why do it?

You will never be able to achieve a goal if you don’t really want it. If your heart isn’t really into doing something, then the best way is to move on and stop procrastinating.

The real reason why you are not achieving your goals is because you aren’t dedicated to it. It is either you have other priorities or maybe something went wrong in the past that made you feel like success isn’t possible for you.

While you are looking for excuses, somebody else is moving forward to achieve success.

If you really want to achieve something, then don’t look for excuses and start moving forward instead. When all else fails, just keep on pushing forward until you reach your goal no matter what happens along the way.

There are always going to be obstacles in life but as long as your goal outweighs those challenges then nothing will stop you from achieving them.

3. Stress

People let stress get in the way of achieving their goals for a lot of reasons. Sometimes they are afraid or they just don’t take action. Other times, they underestimate themselves and give up too soon. As a result, they never get to that level of success they seek.

How can you give yourself the best chance of achieving your goals?

• Make sure you’re setting appropriate goals that are achievable. Setting big, impossible goals gives you no room for failure. If it doesn’t work out, you feel like a failure and give up. Set small, attainable goals and celebrate every time you achieve one.
• Break down big goals into smaller ones so it is easier to take action daily instead of waiting until the last minute before giving up.
• Don’t set yourself up for failure by taking on too much at once. When things get hard or stressful, quit something rather than letting stress turn into excuses not to do anything at all or give up altogether. Learning how to say “no” to things that aren’t important to you is a good way to keep your stress levels down and meet your goals.
• Get rid of negative people in your life who are always saying “no” or criticizing everything you do. Replace them with positive people who are always on your side.
• Focus on the benefits, not the negatives, because if all you think about is how hard something might be or how much work you’ll have to put into something, then it’s too easy for excuses to distract you from taking action towards achieving what it is that will help you feel better about yourself and improve your mental health.
• Change your habits and do things you enjoy that keep you active, make you happy, or get you out of the house to socialize.

4. Negative Environment

The first thing that you can do to get out of your negative environment is to disconnect yourself from the people who are holding you back. 

These people could be a parent, friend, or sibling. If these people are active in the same sphere as you and they are not willing or able to support you, it would be best to distance yourself from them as much as possible.

This is not an easy feat, but it has its rewards. Take time for self-care instead of worrying about everyone else; it will allow you to clear your mind and adjust your lifestyle in order to become more successful in other aspects of life.

Another way to detach from your negative environment is with your home. Consider moving out or moving in with someone else who has the same goals as you.  

If neither of those options are available, it might be best to live somewhere temporarily where you can focus on your goal without being surrounded by people and things that bring you down.

If possible, write down everything that is holding you back. This will help you to identify your negative motivation and thought patterns and see where they’re coming from.

Make adjustments, reconnect with the people who support you and get rid of the rest, and you can start to clean up these thought patterns for good!

5. Lack of Support System

You can do a lot when you have the right focus and work ethic. The person doesn’t need to have a support system in order to be successful. One can achieve many great things if he or she really wants to.

Question everything that is preventing you from achieving your goals. Think of the steps of change, and follow it to see where you can get from there. Look back at what your goal entails. Is this really something that you want?

If so, then don’t lose focus because obstacles are not going to stop you as long as you have the right mind set.

The only thing stopping people is themselves. If they do not believe in their goal or if they aren’t determined enough to accomplish their dreams, then nothing will help them achieve success even if there is a support system standing behind them all along.

We need to start looking into ourselves and asking ourselves questions about our goals, such as: Why am I doing this? How was I able to achieve success before? What was I lacking that caused me to fail this time around? Is there something missing in my life that is preventing me from succeeding in achieving my goal?

The right questions are key. If you do not ask yourself these right questions, then you will never know what the real problem is and how to correct them.

6. Lack of Clarity

One of the most common reasons for people not achieving their goals is a lack of clarity. Clarity is about getting super clear on what you want to achieve.

This is important because it helps you stay motivated and on task. It also helps you know what you need to do next – if you’re having trouble with your goal, it can help you identify what specific steps to take, like quitting your job or taking a break from something.

Having clarity means being able to set goals that are specific and measurable – where “success” is defined by being able to achieve those goals.

So, for example, if your goal is to get out of debt in five years, create a plan that will allow you to do this (like saving $500 each month).

You have to know your WHY! Have a reason that’s so powerful that it will keep you going when things get hard.

Example: I want to be financially free because I don’t want to work for money anymore; I just want to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

What do you need to do next? What specifically needs to happen in order for you to achieve your goal? Take these steps and ask yourself, “Was this necessary?” until you can’t think of anything else.

7. Laziness

Laziness is one of the most common challenges that can hold people back from achieving their goals.

The reason it’s so effective in this respect is because it creates a vicious cycle. Laziness often causes procrastination, which means you’re not making as much progress as you should be. This can lead to boredom and unhappy feelings, which cause even more laziness.

Procrastination can also cause a vicious cycle by making you feel overwhelmed. For example, an out of shape person might procrastinate on going to the gym because it looks like too much work and he’s not sure where to start. This makes him/her feel overwhelmed and less likely to take action.

The solution for overcoming laziness is the same as that for overcoming procrastination: break down your goal into smaller tasks that are easier to accomplish. This way, you can still get some forward momentum even when you procrastinate or feel overwhelmed.

In the end, the obstacles that keep people from achieving success are many and varied. The key is to learn how to overcome them with a strong will or by seeking out the help of those who have been where you want to go.

We hope you’ve learned some valuable tips on what obstacles might be holding you back right now and how they can be dealt with effectively so that your goals become more attainable than ever before!

We’d love to hear about any obstacles in achieving goals that you’ve faced recently and how you dealt with them. Let us know in the comments below!